1. Field of the Invention
The present invention refers in general to garments and methods for alleviating pains and in particular to a close-fitting garment and a method for avoiding shingles scratching.
2. Description of the Prior Knowledge
Shingles is a disease caused by the same varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox. Shingles most commonly occurs in older people.
Pain may come first, but when the migrating virus finally reaches the skin—usually the second to the fifth day after the first symptoms—the rash starts. The virus infects the skin cells and creates a painful, red rash that resembles chickenpox. To resist scratching the itchy rash is difficult and the damaged skin may develop a bacterial infection requiring antibiotic treatment. After such an infection, the skin may be left with significant scarring, some of it serious enough to require plastic surgery.
Traditional treatments for those suffering from shingles can be described as follows:
Although viral disease can't be cured, doctors prescribe, to relieve pain, oral antiviral medications that help control the infection by hindering reproduction of the virus in the nerve cells.
Also to relieve pain, the doctors recommend over-the-counter analgesics belonging to a class of medications known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Doctors use other methods to alleviate pain. Thus, a patch containing a transdermal form of iodine is applied. That patch is prescribed for patients who had intolerable side effects with oral medications. The medication contained in this soft, pliable patch penetrates the skin, reacting with the damaged nerves just under the skin, without being absorbed significantly in the bloodstream.
Yet another method to alleviate pain is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS. A device that generates low-level pulses of electrical current is applied to the skin surface, causing tingling sensations and offering some people pain relief. One theory as to how TENS works is that electrical current simulates the production of endorphins, the body natural painkillers.
TENS is not for everyone. Low doses of the electrical current are not effective. When the current is increased, it gives a painful response.
As a last resort, invasive procedures called nerve blocks may be used to provide temporary relief. These procedures usually use the injection of a local anesthetic into the area of affected nerves. The results are controversial in the terms of the efficiency of nerve blocks.
Injection directly into the spine is another option for relief.